Various, different material dispensing and coating systems or apparatus, for simultaneously coating a plurality of elongated, parallel strands with suitable materials, such as, for example, hot melt adhesives, are of course known in the art. Dispensing and coating systems or apparatus, of the aforenoted type, are disclosed, for example, within U.S. Pat. No. 7,067,009 which issued on Jun. 27, 2006 to Bolyard, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,613,146 which issued on Sep. 2, 2003 to Bolyard, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 6,520,237 which issued on Feb. 18, 2003 to Bolyard, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,200,635 which issued on Mar. 13, 2001 to Kwok, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,375 which issued on Jun. 20, 2000 to Kwok. In addition to the aforenoted patents, a similar system or apparatus is disclosed within U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/623,294 which was filed on Jul. 18, 2003 in the name of M. Steve Lessley et al. More particularly, as disclosed within FIG. 1, which corresponds substantially to FIG. 2 of the aforenoted patent application, a strand coating system or applicator assembly is generally indicated by the reference character 200, and it is seen that the strand coating system or applicator assembly 200 comprises an adhesive dispensing device 210 which is fixedly mounted upon a module assembly 220. The module assembly 220 is, in turn, fixedly mounted upon a head 240, and a pair of strands 233,235, to be coated with a suitable adhesive material discharged from a pair of nozzles or orifices defined within the adhesive dispensing device 210, are conveyed from a suitable strand supply roll, not shown, over a strand guide member or roller 230, which is mounted upon a pair of positionally adjustable arms 236,238 and within which a pair of strand guide grooves 232,234 are defined, and downwardly past the nozzles or orifices defined within the adhesive dispensing device 210.
In order to ensure the fact that the strands 233, 235 are conveyed past the nozzles or orifices, defined within the adhesive dispensing device 210, in a desired manner or mode wherein the strands 233,235 will be properly coated with the adhesive material, a pair of cylindrical, strand guide pins 250,252 are mounted upon a mounting plate 254 which, in turn, is fixedly mounted upon the module assembly 220. More particularly, the provision, presence, or disposition of the pair of cylindrical, strand guide pins 250,252 ensures the fact that the strands 233,235 will be moved past, or aligned with, the nozzles or orifices, defined within the adhesive dispensing device 210, in a substantially coplanar manner or mode with respect to the nozzles or orifices such that the adhesive material, dispensed or discharged from the nozzles or orifices defined within the adhesive dispensing device 210, will in fact be properly deposited or coated upon the strands 233, 235. More particularly, it can be readily appreciated still further that in order for the aforenoted adhesive material coating operation to be properly performed in connection with the strands 233,235, the strands 233,235 must be disposed upon, or conveyed along, the internal portions of the pair of cylindrical, strand guide pins 250,252, that is, the strands 233,235 must be conveyed in a substantially tangential manner along those portions of the cylindrical strand guide pins 250,252 which effectively face, or are disposed toward, each other. If the strands 233,235 are disposed upon or conveyed along the external portions of the pair of cylindrical strand guide pins 250,252, that is, those portions of the cylindrical, strand guide pins 250,252 which effectively face, or are disposed, away from each other, then the strands 233,235 will not be properly aligned, in the aforenoted coplanar manner or mode, with respect to the nozzles or orifices defined within the adhesive dispensing device 210.
It can be readily appreciated still further, however, that due to the circular symmetry defined by means of the cylindrical strand guide pins 250,252, the strands 233, 235 can in fact be easily or readily conveyed either in a tangential manner upon or along the internal portions of the pair of cylindrical strand guide pins 250,252 that effectively face, or are disposed, toward each other, or alternatively, the strands 233, 235 can likewise be easily or readily conveyed in a tangential manner along or upon the external portions of the pair of cylindrical strand guide pins 250, 252 that effectively face, or are disposed, away from each other. Obviously, if the strands 233,235 are erroneously or mistakenly routed so as to be tangentially conveyed along or upon the external portions of the pair of cylindrical strand guide pins 250,252 which effectively face, or are disposed, away from each other, the strands 233,235 will not be properly aligned or disposed in the aforenoted coplanar manner or mode with respect to the nozzles or orifices defined within the adhesive dispensing device 210. Accordingly, the adhesive material, dispensed or discharged from the nozzles or orifices, defined within the adhesive dispensing device 210, will not in fact be properly deposited upon the strands 233,235 in accordance with required or desired deposition techniques or patterns. This will be quite detrimental to the overall adhesive coating process because the system must obviously be shut down while the strand routing problem is effectively corrected. In addition, those elongated strands, already having the adhesive material deposited or coated thereon in a relatively defective manner, must be discarded as waste in view of the fact that such strands cannot be readily rerouted for reprocessing because any adhesive material already deposited thereon, albeit in an improper mode or pattern, would tend to foul the overall strand coating system 200.
In order to rectify the aforenoted potential difficulties characteristic of the hot melt adhesive dispensing apparatus utilizing such cylindrical strand guide pins, the strand guide system, as disclosed within FIG. 2, which effectively corresponds to FIG. 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 7,067,009, employs V-shaped strand guide slots. More particularly, the strand guide system 310 comprises a module assembly 312 that controls the supply of the hot melt adhesive material and the control air or other gas to a hot melt adhesive material dispensing assembly 314, and it is seen that a plurality of hot melt adhesive material dispensing nozzles 316 are arranged or disposed within a horizontal array within the hot melt adhesive material dispensing assembly 314. The hot melt adhesive material dispensing nozzles 316 are adapted to dispense and discharge hot melt adhesive material which is to be deposited onto and coated upon a plurality of laterally spaced material strands 322 which are to be subsequently adhered to or upon one or more substrates, not shown. A strand guide implement or block 324 is fixedly mounted upon a vertically oriented mounting plate 326 which, in turn, is fixedly mounted upon the front face of the module assembly 312, and a plurality of laterally spaced substantially V-shaped strand guide slots 328 are defined within the strand guide implement or block 324 so as to effectively extend rearwardly from a front face or surface 330 of the strand guide implement or block 324 whereby the apex portions 332 of the substantially V-shaped strand guide slots 328 are disposed in a recessed manner internally within the strand guide implement or block 324.
It can additionally be appreciated that each one of the apex portions 332 effectively forms a seat within or upon which each one of the plurality of elongated strands 322 is adapted to be disposed or seated. Accordingly, when each one of the plurality of elongated strands 322 is inserted into a respective one of the plurality of guide slots 328, the convergent side walls of each one of the substantially V-shaped guide slots 328 will effectively cause each one of the elongated strands 322 to be disposed or seated upon the apex seat portion 332 of its respective V-shaped strand guide slot 328 in view of the rearward biasing of the elongated strands 322 as determined, for example, by means of the disposition of a strand supply roll, not shown, and a product assembly station, also not shown. In this manner, it can be seen that each one of the plurality of elongated strands 322 is effectively laterally constrained or confined within its respective one of the substantially V-shaped guide slots 328, and that each one of the plurality of apex seat portions 332 of the plurality of substantially V-shaped strand guide slots 328 is respectively vertically aligned in a substantially coplanar manner with a respective one of the plurality of hot melt adhesive material dispensing nozzles 316. Accordingly, it is thereby ensured that each one of the elongated strands 322 will be conveyed within the common plane defined by means of respective ones of the apex seat portions 332 of the plurality of substantially V-shaped strand guide slots 328 and the plurality of hot melt adhesive material dispensing nozzles 316, and therefore, as hot melt adhesive material is dispensed and discharged from each one of the hot melt adhesive material dispensing nozzles 316, and deposited upon each one of the vertically oriented elongated strands 322, the elongated strands 322 will be properly coated with the hot melt adhesive material.
While the aforenoted strand guide system 310, as disclosed within FIG. 2, has proven to be an operational advancement with respect to the strand guide system 250,252, as disclosed within FIG. 1, it is noted that as a result of the rearward disposition or orientation of the V-shaped guide slots 328 with respect to the front face or surface 330 of the strand guide implement or block 324, whereby the plurality of strands 322 will be disposed at positions closest to the hot melt adhesive material dispensing assembly 314 and the hot melt adhesive material dispensing nozzles 316 thereof as a result of being disposed upon the apex seat portions 332 of the plurality of substantially V-shaped strand guide slots 328, the strands 322 could possibly be adversely affected by means of the heat or thermal radiation generated by or emanating from the hot melt adhesive material dispensing assembly 314 and the hot melt adhesive material dispensing nozzles 316 thereof. In addition, it is not always logistically possible to position the strand supply roll, the product assembly station, or the various electrical power or air conduits, operatively associated with the hot melt adhesive applicator apparatus, in such a manner that the rearward bias of the strands 322 is able to be readily achieved.
A need therefore exists in the art for new and improved strand positional guide implements or mechanisms, for use in connection with hot melt adhesive material dispensing and coating nozzles of strand coating applicators, wherein the strand positional guide implements or mechanisms will not only serve to properly position a plurality of elongated, parallel strands with respect to the plurality of the material dispensing and coating nozzles, in such a manner that the plurality of elongated, parallel strands can assuredly be respectively aligned in a coplanar manner with respect to the plurality of material dispensing and coating nozzles whereby the dispensed and discharged materials, such as, for example, hot melt adhesives, can be simultaneously dispensed and discharged from the plurality of material dispensing and coating nozzles and properly applied to or coated upon the elongated, parallel strands prior to the adherence of the elongated strands upon suitable substrates so as to ensure the adherence of the plurality of elongated strands upon the particular substrates when the elongated strands and the substrates are mated together in order to form completed fabricated products, but in addition, the strand positional guide implements or mechanisms will space or separate the plurality of elongated strands from the plurality of material dispensing and coating nozzles such that the plurality of strands will not be adversely affected by means of the heat or thermal radiation generated by or emanating from the hot melt adhesive material dispensing assembly and the hot melt adhesive material dispensing nozzles thereof.